Talking Points

Key Point: It is troubling that the Republican leadership would filibuster a
debate on the most important issue facing the country: the war in Iraq.
President Bush is escalating the war against the opposition of a bipartisan
majority in Congress, his own military commanders, and an overwhelming
majority of Americans. Escalating the war will not make this country safer,
and the American people deserve to know where every member of this Congress
stands. Republicans owe it to the American people to allow this debate to
begin.



Iraq

America's Intelligence Community has concluded that Iraq is in civil war or
worse, and that the President's plan is unlikely to succeed. The
Congressional Budget office says the plan is unsustainable

President Bush is escalating the war against the advice of his own military
commanders, a bipartisan majority of Congress, and an overwhelming majority
of the American people.

Republicans are obstructing the Senate from debating the most important
issue facing America today. Republicans owe it to the American people to
allow this debate to begin. They rejected three compromises to permit the
Senate to vote on the President's plan:

* Senate Democrats offered to schedule a simple majority vote on the
McCain/Graham resolution supporting the President's escalation.
* Senate Democrats then offered the Republican leadership simple
majority votes on the Gregg resolution and on a resolution stating that the
Senate does not support the surge and demands that the troops deploying to
Iraq receive the body armor and other equipment they need.
* Senate Democrats offered to schedule supermajority votes on the
bipartisan resolution and the McCain/Graham resolution.

Republicans refused all compromise.

Congress will always stand up for the safety of our troops and the security
of our nation. President Bush is sending more troops into a civil war
without a plan for victory or the armor and equipment needed to keep them
safe. Standing up for our troops and our nation's security means standing up
for a real change of course in Iraq.

A bipartisan resolution should serve as the basis for the first real debate
on the President's flawed Iraq war policy since the war began nearly four
years ago. The American people deserve to know where every member of
Congress stands on the President's plan to escalate the war. Republicans
should stop this filibuster and allow this debate to begin.